Sheet dispenser



Patented Apr. 8, 1941 AZNAR/l SHEET DISPENSER Samuel N. Hope, Wauwatosa, Wis., assignor to Griffith-Hope Company, West Allis, Wis., a. corporation of Wisconsin Application June 2, 1939, Serial No. 276,960

6 Claims.

This invention relates to dispensers for sheets of exible material, such as paper food wrappers, towels and napkins, and has for an object to provide an improved and efficient dispenser for this purpose which is of simple, compact and inexpensive construction, which is easily loaded with sheets, vand which can be used in either horizontal or vertical position.

Another object of the invention is to provide a sheet dispenser having swingable cover members which form a sheet-dispensing slot between them and which serve to position the sheets longitudinally of the slot.

A further object is to provide a sheet dispenser having an improved spring hinge for the cover element.

The invention further consists in the several features hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing, illustrating one form of sheet dispenser constructed in accordance with the invention,

Fig. 1 is a plan View of the dispenser;

Fig. 2 is an end view;

Fig. 3 is a bottom or rear view;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional elevation, taken generally along the line 4-4 of Fig. l, the dispenser having sheets therein, and an open position of swingable cover members of the dispenser being indicated in broken lines;

Fig. 5 is a side view of the dispenser as it apf pears when mounted in vertical position on a wall, parts being shown in longitudinal section;

Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view of a pivotal mounting for one of the cover members, taken generally along the line 6 6 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 7 is a detail View of a cover member blank.

In the drawing, I0 designates a rectangular tray-like container or 4casing for holding therein a pack of interfolded sheets II, such as the parchment-like paper food wrappers used in retail stores for wrapping meat and other prod-` ucts. The casing is constructed of a single piece o f sheet metal bent to form a bottom wall I2, opposite parallel end walls I3 and opposite upwardly diverging side wallsv I 4. The end walls the side walls and which is inwardly folded on itself to form a smooth rounded bead Il. Extending centrally along the inner side of the bottom Wall is a longitudinal rib I8 to supper-t `upper or front edge which extends higher than free edge portions.

the middle portion of the pack of sheets. This rib may be formed in any suitable manner, asV by an angle bar spot-welded to the bottom wall. The bottom wall of the casing is provided with rubber feet I9 for supporting the casing on a counter or table, and is further provided with embossments 20 having keyhole-shaped openings 2| to receive screws 22 for attaching the casing to a Vertical supporting wall 23, Fig. 5, when it is desired to support the casing in a vertical position.

Extending along the top or front portion of the casing are a pair of transversely arched or bulged cover members 24 which are laterally spaced to form a central longitudinally extending sheet-dispensing slot 25 for receiving therethrough a, portion of the uppermost or foremost sheet. Each cover member is constructed of a single piece of sheet metal, the blank for which is shown in Fig. 7, bent to form two angularly extending wall sections 2t and 2l and opposite triangular end walls 28, the longitudinal free edge portion of the wall section 2l being curled to form a bead 29 which ts about the rounded ends of the end walls 2l. The end walls of each cover member have outwardly directed aligned embossments 30 which t against similar inwardly directed aligned embossments 3| formed on the inner side of th-e casing end walls I3 near the side walls I4, the embossments 3l) and 3l being secured together by` aligned pivot-forming rivets 32, the heads of which lie within the embossments, as seen in Fig. 6. The pivotal axes of the two cover members are substantially parallel, and the plane of these axes is here shown to be located approximately midway of the effective height or depth of `the casing end walls I3. The longitudinal bead 2B of each cover member extends adjacent tothe inturned top ange I of the corresponding casing side wall. The portions of the cover members adjacent to the hinge axes form, in effect, extensions of the casing side walls. The wall section 26 of yeach cover member 24 has formed thereon a pair of longitudinally spaced elongated embossments 33 to hold the protruding portion ofthe sheet above or away from the coverinembe'r'so as to facilitate grasping of the sheet by the fingers. The pivoted cover members normally extends toward each other to form the dispensing slot between their The slot-forming edge of each cover member has a curved lip 34 to bear on the pack of sheets, and further has a raised rounded ingerhold 35 to facilitate opening of the cover member.l The arched portion of each cover member extends over the greater part of the width of this member, and the inner sides of the arched cover1 members form recesses or cavities to receive the opposite sides of the sheets, thus permitting the dispenser to accommodate a relatively thick pack of sheets extending con* siderably above the plane of the cover member axes.

In some instances, the weight of the cover members may be sufficient to hold them against the pack of sheets in the casing, but preferably the cover members are spring-urged to their closed, slot-forming position. For this purpose a coiled torsion spring 36 surrounds the cooperating embossments 36 and 3l at one end of each cover member, one end of the spring engaging a lug 3l struck up from the adjacent end wall I3 of the casing, and the other end of the spring engaging a lug 38 struck up from the adjacent end wall 28 of the cover member. The embossments serve to position the convolutions of the spring.

When a pack of sheets is to be placed and stored in the dispenser, the two cover members are swung upwardly to the open position shown by broken lines in Fig. 4 and the pack is then introduced into the casing and rests on the longitudinal bottom rib I8. The cover members are then released and snap back to their closed position to form the dispensing slot, the free end of the uppermost sheet having been raised so as to extend in dispensing position above one of the cover members, as seen in Figs. 1 and 4. The upper portions of the ends of the pack are coniined by the end walls of the cover members, thus preventing the pack from shifting against the end walls or against the cover springs. The pack of sheet is adequately enclos-ed by the dispenser even though the full pack is considerably .thicker than the height or depth of the casing side walls I4.

When a sheet is desired, the uppermost sheet is pulled out by its exposed free end and carries with it the free end of the succeeding sheet, so as to place the latter in dispensing position. During the withdrawal of the sheets the springurged cover members may yield slightly independently of each other, thus facilitating 'the dispensing operation. As the sheets are progressively withdrawn, the slot-forming edges of the cover members descend to remain in contact with the pack, the width of the dispensing slot remaining approximately constant. The normal range of travel of the slot-forming free edges of the pivoted cover members during the depletion of the stack of sheets is approximately bisected by the plane of the pivotal axes of the cover members. The bead 29 along the outer edge of each cover member remains uniformly close to the inwardly flanged upper edge of the adjacent casing side wall in all angular positions of the cover member. The effective depth of each of the arched cover members is in the same order of size as the normal extent of travel of the free edge portion of the cover member outwardly beyond the plane of the cover member axes.

When the dispenser is used in the vertical position of Fig. 5, the operation and use of the device is the same. The lower end walls of the cover members prevent the stack from dropping against the lower end wall of the casing or against the lower cover spring.

The bulged, arched or angular cross-sectional shape of each cover member not only provides support for the protruding portion of the foremost sheet, but also permits the pivotal axes of the cover members to be located closer to the bottom wall of the casing and at a, distance therefrom considerably less than the maximum height or depth of the casing end walls. This location of the pivotal axes also results in less variation in the width of the dispensing slot during the depletion of the stack.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A sheet dispenser comprising a casing adapted to contain a pack of interfolded sheets and having opposite end walls with inwardly dinected embossments' adjacent to the opposite sides of the casing, a pair of cover members extending between said casing end walls and having end walls with outwardly directed embossments adapted to register with said casing embossments, pivot means for connecting the corresponding embossments of the casing and cover members, the free edge portions of said cover members forming between them a dispensing slot for the sheets and bearing on said pack, and a coiled spring for each cover member for urging said cover member against said pack, said spring surrounding a cooperating pair of the embossments on said casing and cover member.

2. A sheet dispenser comprising a casing adapted to contain a pack of interfolded sheets and having opposite end walls and opposite side walls, the intermediate portions of said end walls projecting forwardly beyond said side walls, a pair of cover members extending between said casing end walls, means for pivotally mounting said cover members on said casing end walls to swing about substantially parallel axes adjacent to the opposite side walls of the casing, the free edge portions of said cover members being spaced to form between them a dispensing slot for the sheets and being normally urged against said pack, and each cover member being of angular shape in transverse cross-section and forming a sheet-receiving cavity at its inner side.

3. A sheet dispenser comprising a casing adapted to contain a pack of interfolded sheets and having opposite end walls, a pair of cover members extending between said casing end walls, each cover member having an end wall, means for pivotally mounting said cover members on said casing end walls to swing about substantially parallel axes adjacent to the opposite sides of the casing, the free edge portions of said cover members being spaced to form between them a dispensing slot for the sheets and bearing on said pack, and spring means extending between an end wall of each cover member and the adjacent casing end wall for urging said cover member against said pack.

4. A sheet dispenser comprising a, casing adapted to contain a pack of interfolded sheets, and a pair of cover members normally urged against said pack and pivotally mounted on said casing to swing about substantially parallel axes adjacent to the opposite sides of the casing, the free edge portions of said cover members forming between them a dispensing slot for the sheets, the normal range of movement of said slotforming free edge portions of said cover members in the closed dispensing position of said cover members extending on both sides of the plane of said pivotal axes, and each of said cover members being outwardly bulged in transverse cross-section to form a sheet-receiving recess at its inner side, the bulged portion of each cover member extending forwardly beyond the pivotal axis of the cover member.

5. A sheet dispenser comprising a casing adapted to contain a pack of interfolded sheets and having opposite side walls and opposite end walls, and a pair of cover members extending between said casing end walls and pivo'tally mounted on said casing to swing about substan tially parallel axes adjacent to said opposite side walls, said cover members normally extending toward each other and having free edge portions adapted to bear against said pack of sheets, said free edge portions forming between them a dispensing slot for said sheets, said casing end walls projecting forwardly of said casing side walls and of the plane of said pivotal axes, each of said cover members being transversely arched to present a sheet-receiving cavity at its inner side, the portions of said arched cover members adjacent to said pivotal axes forming forward extensions of said casing side walls, said casing and said transversely arched cover members dening a pack-storage space extending both forwardly and rearwardly of the plane of said pivotal axes, the free edge portions of said cover members being movable inwardly during ythe depletion of the pack, and the normal range of movement of said slot-forming free edge portions of said cover members in the closed dispensing position of said cover members extending on both side of the plane of said pivotal axes'.

6. A sheet dispenser comprising a casing adapted to contain a pack of interfolded sheets, and a pair of cover members for said casing pivotally mounted on said casing to swing about substantially parallel axes adjacent to the opposite sides of said casing, said cover members normally extending toward each other and having free edge portions adapted to bear against said pack of sheets, said free edge portions forming between them a dispensing slot for said sheets, each of said cover members being transversely arched to present a sheet-receiving cavity at its inner side, said casing and said transversely arched cover members defining a pack-storage space extending-both forwardly and rearwardly of the plane of said pivotal axes, the free edge portions of said cover members being movable inwardly during the depletion of the stack, and the normal range of movement of said slot-forming free edge portions of said cover members in the closed dispensing position of said cover members extending approximately equal distances on opposite sides of the plane of said pivotal axes.

SAMUEL N. HOPE. 

